Opinion
The Thaiger Opinion Columns
-
Sponsored The Four Twenty experience: From seed to sale at one of the most famous cannabis dispensaries in Thailand
Four Twenty is already a household name in Thailand’s relatively new legal cannabis scene, and for good reason. Their meteoric rise can be attributed to a combination of factors, mainly their top-quality cannabis and their dedication to providing a unique...
-
Save the living dead: put down the smartphones
PHUKET: Having recently become addicted to the American TV show The Walking Dead, where the survivors of a zombie-virus plague battle for survival in the post-apocalyptic landscape of America, I couldn’t help but think about a more insidious zombie plague that is slowly taking over the world. The zombies are all around us, everywhere… they could be your best friend,…
-
Balancing good and bad in a digital age
PHUKET: There is an apocryphal “curse” attributed to the ancient Chinese that is typically rendered as: “May you live in interesting times”. While its origins are sketchy at best, its popularity appears to be growing in this new era of digital information overload. The days of a popular culture developed through a limited mainstream media are long gone. Content consumers…
-
When noise is good
PHUKET: I stopped at my local 7-Eleven on the way home from work the other night, tired out from a day of peering at my computer screen and mildly irritated for the umpteenth time at the inconvenience of having to buy something – drinking water – that I get out of the tap where I come from. As I entered…
-
Phuket kids to save Karon
Yuphayao Alshammary, 50, has been Director of Suwan-keereekate School in Karon since May 2013. She has an MA in Education Management from Maha Sarakham University and is now pursuing a PhD. Before coming to Phuket, she was director of two rural Northeast schools for more than 15 years. Here, she talks about how supporting education can help solve Karon’s social…
-
Policing a Protestocracy
PHUKET: Few stories in recent memory better reflect the collective failure of local police to maintain law and order than the recent blockade of Thepkrasattri Road by residents of Thalang (story here). The closure paralyzed traffic in the north of the island for more than eight hours, inconveniencing untold thousands of visitors – many of whom will never choose to…
-
Time for a resolution checkup
PHUKET: The Thai New Year has come and gone, and I can’t help but think about the resolutions I made for my own new year in January. For Westerners like me, the half-year point is quickly approaching and thoughts of resolutions made in good faith on January 1 are probably a distant memory. As I stared into the face of…
-
Public transport and closing legal loopholes critical, says Phuket’s new Senator
Phuket Senator Chaiyot Punyawai, 47, officially became Senator of Phuket on April 10. A graduate in law from Ramkhamhaeng University and now studying for his master’s in law, Senator Chaiyot works in a local law firm and is the president of the Phuket branch of the Lawyers Council of Thailand. Here, Mr Chaiyot talks about the role of senators and…
-
When home is a dangerous place
PHUKET: I was born and raised in Yala, but have lived in Phuket for about three years. Many outsiders think that Yala is horrible because of the violence. My friends in Phuket don’t want to visit me when I go home, and I understand why. There are a lot of negative stories about Yala in the news. Teachers are assaulted,…
-
Can’t wash your hands with dirty water
PHUKET: Hardly a week passes nowadays without a damaging news report about water-related issues in Phuket. Of these, none could be more harmful to the island’s reputation than reports of untreated wastewater flowing directly into the sea at some of the island’s most popular beaches. Such reports are nothing new. Sadly, untreated wastewater entering Patong Bay is now so common…
-
Ticking off the Songkran bucket list – respect before revelry
PHUKET: By the time you read this, I hope you took a plastic bag with you to the shop to buy your copy of the Phuket Gazette. Songkran has once again come and gone, having been celebrated by the traditional bucket load. Most Phuket oldtimers I know choose to stay indoors during the Thai New Year, happily avoiding the deluges…
-
Sustaining Phuket people and environment
Sayan Chanachaiwong, 56, has been Kathu District Chief for about five months. With a master’s degree in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University, he worked as district chief in the restive Deep South province of Narathiwat for more than nine years, most recently in Su-ngai Padi, before coming to Phuket. Here, he talks about his three priorities for Kathu. PHUKET: My…
-
Unwanted babies in Phuket are not to be abandoned
Special Report The discovery of a newborn boy abandoned in the bed of a pick-up truck in front of a luxury resort on April 10 has highlighted the issue of unwanted pregnancies on Phuket. Many women, not knowing which way to turn, abandon their babies or seek illegal abortions. The Gazette‘s Chutharat Plerin explores what options are available for pregnant…
-
Phuket double jeopardy: too much, too fast
Former Phuket Senator Tunyaratt Achariyachai, 59, represented Phuket in Thailand’s Upper House for six years. She graduated with a master’s degree in public administration from Manila University in the Philippines. Here, Ms Tunyaratt identifies her proudest achievements during her term as senator and what she still sees as the critical issues facing Phuket. PHUKET: When I was voted into office,…
-
Phuket Opinion: Three cheers for clean police
PHUKET: The opening of the Karon Police Station in 2012 to serve the southwest of the island was a well-intended move, one expected to take pressure off the Chalong police who were previously responsible for the entire south of the island. Events in recent months have shown that the truncation did not stop the scandals that have plagued the Chalong…
-
Tempest in a longtail
PHUKET: I could feel the Sea Sheperd weekend warrior rising up in me, ready for battle, after reading about the “Yamu Night Fishing Game.” As a sunny-weather marine conservationist, I have no issues with sport fishing competitions. However, I suffered a knee-jerk reaction to seeing “sharks and rays” listed as a category for the Yamu fishing tournament. Glimpses of proud…
-
Safeguarding health in a shifting populace
Kajohnsak Kaewjarus, 49, took up the position of chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office on October 1 last year. Phang Nga born and raised, Dr Kajohnsak graduated from Mahidol University with a master’s degree in general surgery. Here, he talks about Phuket’s top health concerns and gives his prognosis on how to treat them. PHUKET: After spending only a…
-
Stop killing sharks
PHUKET: I came across awful images of a man gutting a juvenile blacktip reef shark on Facebook via Go Eco Phuket and was horrified to see that it happened on one of our local beaches, Kata Noi (story here). It was clear that this man was a spear fisherman from the wetsuit he was wearing and the spear hole on…
-
Hooked on saving sea life
Wisit Itthiwarapornkul, 50, is the president of Go Eco Phuket. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine science from Kasetsart University and has worked in the dive industry for more than 10 years. Here, he talks about ways to resolve conflicting local interests in the sea and makes suggestions about what we all can do to preserve the health…
-
Corralling young Phuket minds for a collective economic community
PHUKET: After years of apparent neglect, it is good to see the Embassy of Myanmar’s Labour Attache taking steps to ensure that at least some of the untold thousands of Myanmar workers on the island are being treated fairly by their Thai employers (story here). The history of Myanmar workers in Phuket is a tale of sadness and suffering that…
-
No news is good news
PHUKET: It’s an all too common rant, and I’m certainly guilty of it from time to time, that the media just force feeds us negative content. Most of the time, what we read in the news is bad news. Maybe the rant is true, as it is editors who make the choices that determine content. However, those choices reflect what…
-
Outdated laws need overhaul
PHUKET: The recent minor fining of five men who confessed to the illegal felling of protected forest reserves on the island highlights the need for an overhaul of the antiquated Forest Act BE 2484 (1941), the terms of which are sadly out of date in this day and age of substantial monoculture, dwindling biodiversity and ever-increasing human overpopulation. Loud but…
-
Phuket Opinion: Casting aside modern conveniences for an island dream
PHUKET: With the seemingly endless parade of new condo developments springing up like mushrooms all over the island, it’s clear that quite soon, the majority of Phuket’s residents will be living in high density housing. When I first moved here, I too found it convenient to move into a modest, reasonably priced apartment block. I considered it a stop-gap measure.…
-
Phuket Opinion: Preventing passport malpractice
PHUKET: The revelation that two passengers aboard the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 were travelling on passports stolen in Phuket (story here) once again highlights the need for a serious and sustained crackdown on the use of travel documents as collateral on motorbike, car, and jet-ski rentals. The need to end this ridiculous practice has already been the subject of…
-
Phuket Opinion: Changing the way we see with photos
PHUKET: My friends abroad have been writing to urge me to be careful and take care in light of the anti-government protests. If they thought for a moment, they might remember that Phuket is quite far from Bangkok. It’s the photos that get to them, I think. Photos, valuable documenters of the truth, can sometimes mislead – as any user…
-
Phuket Opinion: Marketing failing airport bus service
PHUKET: The operators of the airport bus service linking Phuket International Airport with Patong need to improve their marketing approach as quickly as possible if they hope to turn around the service’s slow start before the high season draws to a close. It came as somewhat of a surprise that the service, launched with considerable fanfare in July last year,…
-
Phuket Opinion: Good news for Phuket life on the road
PHUKET: My car has been filthy for weeks, covered in the dust that is everywhere now, due to the lack of rain. When the light hits it just right in the morning, I have trouble seeing out the back window. I don’t want to wash it at home because I have no outside source of water, and I haven’t taken…
-
Phuket Opinion: Extending a helping hand at the hospital
Chananan Sutsadang, 51, is a native of Bangkok. She has a BA in Business Administration from Loma Linda University and lived in the United States for 20 years before moving back to Thailand. She worked in health care and as a teacher before joining the customer service staff at Mission Hospital last year. Here, she talks about differences between Thai…
-
Phuket Opinion: Deputizing the masses
PHUKET: Everyone should get behind two recent appeals for public participation in protecting our marine and coastal resources. Earlier this month, the Phuket Marine Office encouraged the public to provide photographic evidence to bring to justice people so ignorant that they actually still dump used petrochemicals directly into the sea surrounding our resort island. The entreaty came with the promise…
-
Phuket Opinion: Forging a place for women on the force
Chollada Chokdeesrijun, 23, graduated from the Royal Police Cadet Academy last year and started working at the Chalong Police Station on November 1. Originally from Bangkok, she and her family moved to Phang Nga when she was 13 years old. Here Lt Chollada talks about why it is important to have women on the police force, and the challenges she…
-
Phuket Opinion: ‘Bangkok-centric’ travel slows Phuket progress
PHUKET: There are many different indices used to assess how developed a country is. Fortunately for Thailand, the state of the domestic aviation industry is not among them, because if it were, the country would not fare well in the ratings. In many countries, regional carriers operating small turboprop commuter planes on scheduled routes in lean markets are an important…
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.